déchirévsdéchirentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: déchiré is a adjective, déchirent is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“déchiré” is an adjective and “déchirent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,555
“déchiré” frequency rank
#27,041
“déchirent” frequency rank
39596
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déchiré déchirent
Definition Qui est séparé, coupé, découpé en plusieurs morceaux. Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de déchirer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set déchiré and déchirent apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
déchiré
9 ch
déchirent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déchiré is \de.ʃi.ʁe\ while déchirent is \de.ʃiʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déchiré is recorded at frequency rank #12,555, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.ʃi.ʁe\. déchirent is at rank #27,041, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʃiʁ\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 39596, this pair ranks #246,797 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of déchiré vs déchirent

Shared letters: cdhiré. Private to "déchiré": -. Private to "déchirent": ent.

"déchiré" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "déchirent" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

déchiré#12,555
déchirent#27,041

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déchiré" and "déchirent" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "déchiré" is an adjective and "déchirent" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "déchiré" or "déchirent"?
"déchiré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,555 in our French list, against #27,041 for "déchirent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déchiré vs déchirent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “déchiré”; for a verb, it's “déchirent”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “déchiré” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list